Daily WHUFC News - 3rd January 2015

Mediawatch - 2 January
WHUFC.com
Our daily look at West Ham United in the news
02.01.2015

The Telegraph's match report of yesterday's 1-1 draw against West Bromwich
Albion leads on the presence at the Boleyn Ground of the Baggies' new head
coach Tony Pulis.

The Times (£) carries a preview of what every Barclays Premier League team
might do in the January transfer window.

Harry Redknapp admits in West London Sport that he is unsure whether a loan
move for Mauro Zarate will go through.

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Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Winger Matt Jarvis blogs for whufc.com on his return to action and hopes for
the future
02.01.2015

Hello everyone and a very happy New Year from myself and all the lads,

It was definitely a frustrating game on New Year's Day against West Bromwich
Albion. Obviously we really wanted to get the three points to start the New
Year, especially at home, so we were disappointed with that. You have to try
something different when it isn't working, as it wasn't really for us just
before and after half-time, so obviously the manager changed things around
and we managed to get in behind them and get some crosses in. Unfortunately,
we just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net. We had two very hard
games before that against Chelsea and Arsenal and to come away from them
with no points was tough, but they are top teams and extremely difficult to
play against.

It was disappointing not to get the three points on Thursday, but we got a
point and hopefully that will get us back on our way.
I don't think we have done anything particularly badly in the last few games
- we have just come up against two very good teams and another in West Brom,
who had every incentive to do well in front of their new manager.

Chelsea were fantastic on the day and are top of the league, another top
team in Arsenal, and West Brom really worked hard and were fighting for
everything and managed to hold on for the draw. We've made a fantastic start
to the season overall. If you had asked anyone where they would like to be
around the New Year, they'd have said near the top end of the table, and
that's where we are and deservedly so. The guys have been playing extremely
well and performances have been great. What we need to focus on now is
getting back to winning ways and, first of all, securing ourselves a place
in the top half. With where we are now, we should be aiming even higher.
From a personal point of view, I was pleased to get on the pitch and to play
well.

It's been a very frustrating time for me, so when you get a chance you need
to try and do well and hopefully I did that. I was extremely disappointed
and frustrated to get injured just before the start of the season because
ultimately that is what has cost me playing regularly in the opening half of
the season. Now I'm fully fit and I'm trying to get back in the team. We go
to Everton on Tuesday in the FA Cup third round and hopefully I can get
myself in the team for that one. It's an extremely tough place to go but I'm
really looking forward to it and hopefully I'll play my part. A few of the
lads are going away to the Africa Cup of Nations, but we've got a fantastic
squad and I'll certainly be looking to play a part, stay in the team and
help us move up the league.

Have a great 2015!
Jarvo

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West Ham winger Matt Jarvis determined to become a regular
Last Updated: 02/01/15 3:19pm
SSN

West Ham winger Matt Jarvis is determined to take his chance and become a
first-team regular in the new year. The 28-year-old was capped by England in
2011 but has struggled to establish himself as a first-choice at Upton Park
under Sam Allardyce. However, with the likes of Senegal duo Cheikhou Kouyate
and Diafra Sakho heading for the Africa Cup of Nations this month, Jarvis is
hopeful of benefitting having come off the bench to impressive effect in
Thursday's 1-1 draw with West Brom. Jarvis said: "It has been very
frustrating for me, but when you get a chance to play, you have to do well
and hopefully I have done that. "I was extremely disappointed to get injured
before the start of the season, that has cost me, but now I am back to being
fully fit and trying to get back into the team. "The two games before were
very hard fixtures and it would have been for any team. "We were
disappointed not to have taken all three points against West Brom, but it is
another point and we keep going."

"It has been very frustrating for me, but when you get a chance to play, you
have to do well and hopefully I have done that."
Matt Jarvis Next up for the Hammers is Tuesday's FA Cup third-round trip to
Everton - and Allardyce is grateful for the respite from a packed schedule.
He said: "It is a big FA Cup third-round tie on a Tuesday night, which is a
bit bizarre and something I don't think I have done before. "But it gives
the lads time to rest and recover and make sure we can put a team out to try
to get through to the next round."

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WHAT IS OUR BEST STRIKE PARTNERSHIP?
By Iain Dale 2 Jan 2015 at 08:11
West Ham till I Die

Andy Carroll was pants yesterday. He barely won a header, did nothing on the
ground and yet remained on the pitch until 5 minutes before the end. Cards
on table.I am a fan of Carroll.On his day he is unplayable. He is normally
great in the air, has a good first touch and is a much better goalscorer
than he is given credit for. However, since he has come back into the team
our style of play has reverted back, in some part, to the style of last
season. More balls are being humped up front instead of being played on the
ground.

When I was driving home to Norfolk yesterday evening I wondered to myself if
the result against WBA might have been different if Valencia and Sakho had
played together, as I said I hoped they would. We will never know. So is
Sakho/Carroll a better partnership than Valencia/Sakho? Well let's look at
the evidence.

So far this season Sakho and Valencia have started 8 games together, 7 in
the league. Andy Carroll has started 9 games and played with four different
strike partners – Cole, Zarate, Sakho and Valencia.

When Sakho & Valencia played together we lost only one game – at Old
Trafford. In the 7 league games they partnered each other we procured 14
points – 2 points per game. In the 9 games Andy Carroll has played in we
have also got points, at an average of 1.55 points per game.

Sakho is now off to the African Cup of Nations until early February, so we
are now likely to see a Carroll/Valencia partnership establish itself.
They've played twice together, against Chelsea and Swansea, so it's hard to
draw many conclusions from those games. Against Swansea, Carroll was on
fire. Let's hope the same thing happens on Tuesday against Everton and then
Saturday at Swansea.

Meanwhile, we wish Diafra Sakho the best of luck in Morrocco and beg him to
stay away from Sengalese needles!

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West Ham didn't beat West Brom because we tried TOO HARD to score huffs boss
Sam Allardyce
Jan 01, 2015 22:30 By Darren Lewis
"When we got 1-0 up, we didn't need to keep being adventurous. We paid the
price for that" claims manager who wanted his lads to shut up shop instead
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce admitted his West Ham side paid the price for being too
cavalier against Tony Pulis-inspired West Brom. The Hammers were expected to
bounce back to winning ways after defeats away to Chelsea and at home to
Arsenal. But Diafra Sakho's 10th-minute goal was cancelled out by Saido
Berahino's 42nd-minute strike. West Ham then failed to break the the Baggies
down. Allardyce said of the 1-1 draw: "The players should have focused on
keeping a clean sheet. Today was about the result, not the performance,
because the performance was never going to be great. "When we got 1-0 up, we
didn't need to keep being adventurous. We paid the price for that.
West Brom were offering really not a lot and we left the back door open on
the counter-attack. We then had to break down an even more stubborn defence.
I didn't think there was a lot of adventure from West Brom. We are facing
more and more of this type of defensive solidarity from the opposition that
we have to break down. "The effort from the players was tremendous given it
was the third match in five days but we were not quite good enough in the
final third to finish off West Brom. "We put so much effort into the last
three games that it was never going to be anything but a tired performance
from both teams. "When you are fatigued, more mistakes happen."

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A little perspective is needed at West Ham
Date: 2nd January 2015 at 8:00 pm
Written by: Kwame Boakye | Forever WestHam

A solitary point from our festive fixtures… not exactly what we were
expecting after Leicester City were brushed aside with a stylish aplomb,
however three poor results haven't suddenly wrecked our season.

I think at times like this where dissenting voices are once again making
their voices heard a little perspective is needed. Yes we can't at this
moment in time look at the table and sit there all smug and sated as we're
no longer occupying fourth spot, but we are still firmly in the mix for it.
It wasn't so long ago that Southampton lost four or five in a row and were
written off by so called 'experts' they've now recovered and once again are
flavour of the month.

Our next opponents are having a dreadful season; they are woefully
underperforming and in the hostile and fickle world of football management;
Roberto Martinez who last season heralded as taking Everton onto the next
level is now firmly in the firing line. Everton along with Arsenal have
taken the mantle of being our official 'bogey sides' however surely given
Everton's woeful form we can go into that game hopeful of a spot in the
fourth round of the cup and not the inevitable defeat we all assumed was in
the bag when the draw was first made.

Our season is simply no longer defined by staying up but it is worth noting
that with twenty games gone we are now sitting fifteen points clear of the
bottom three whilst Manchester United in third are only five points better
off than us. I think we all would've settled for that at this stage of the
campaign. This season we've gone from being a perennial joke to one of the
better sides the league has to offer; and this transformation shouldn't be
buried with a few less than desirable results.

This season on a couple of occasions we've won three games on the spin and I
don't think any of us thought we'd cracked it and the league was ours for
the taking; so just because we've now gone three games without a win doesn't
mean the wheels have suddenly come off our season.

The murmurings of the #AllardyceOut brigade who never really went away but
merely went into hibernation really do not hold much of any substance, the
improvement this season has been beyond what anyone could envisage or
imagine and as manager Sam should take the plaudits.

If you want to look at the effects on a side of constantly changing their
manager you need look no further than our opponents on New Year's Day…West
Brom could actually hold an ex-managers convention for the last three
seasons and get a decent turnout, especially if you figured in caretakers,
are they any better off for it?

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Andy Carroll and Billi Mucklow house: The internet has not reacted kindly to
'Carroll Castle' shared by West Ham striker and Towie fiancée
JAMES ORR Author Biography Friday 02 January 2015
The independent

With West Ham not playing Everton in the FA Cup third round until Tuesday
night, Hammers striker Andy Carroll might be able to find the time to do
some decorating in his bonkers Essex home over the weekend, which he shares
with his pregnant fiancée, Towie star Billi Mucklow.

Mucklow has kept followers on her Instagram account entertained throughout
the festive period, posting a series of pictures from their new home, which
she has affectionately named Carroll Castle.

The plush Essex pad features Mucklow's own beauty salon, called
"Billutifuls", a disco-themed dining room, a zebra-walled living room with
bright pink sofa, plus a bedroom with a mirrored ceiling.

But the images have not been received well on Twitter, with users today
blasting the pair for their questionable taste.

Gemma Kirman @GemmaKirman
Did Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen decorate Andy Carroll's house?! #andycarroll

This Is Beats @ThisIsBeats
Photos from Andy Carroll's house prove that money cannot buy taste. ANDY,
DORIEN FROM BIRDS OF A FEATHER PHONED. WANTS HER FURNITURE BACK.

westhamutd @JonesVince77779
@IndyFootball @Independent #Wtf was he thinking ! May have loads of money
but you cant buy class. #whufc

Roisin Glynn @RoisinGlynn
Just saw pictures of @AndyTCarroll & @BilliMucklow 's house. There are no
words! My eyes hurt #tack

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West Ham January transfer dossier: Allardyce looks for Diafra Sakho and
Cheikhou Kouyate back-ups
Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal By Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal
January 2, 2015 06:06 GMT
IBTimes UK

The Hammers are proving to be the revelation of the Premier League –
alongside Southampton – after an excellent summer transfer window.

Following a struggling last campaign, Allardyce's signings have changed both
the style of the team and the target. While last season they battled for the
relegation with a defensive approach, the East London side are now
challenging for the Champions League spot despite the recent defeats against
Chelsea and Arsenal.

What they need:

With things going smoothly for West Ham, the best advice would be not to
change anything. However, with Mauro Zarate set to join QPR and with Diafra
Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate expected to play the Africa Cup of Nations next
month - which runs from January 17 to February 8 – Allardyce needs to cope
with their absences somehow.

Alex Song will finally not make the same trip, but considering Sakho and
Kouyaté have been crucial in the impressive start to the campaign, Allardyce
is open to new additions.

So, even though Andy Carroll's excelling return to action have added enough
goals to cope without Sakho up front, the boss is open to bolster both the
attack and the midfield.

Who could join:

The Hammers are expected to sign Canada international centre-back Doneil
Henry from Cypriot club Apollon Limassol for around £1.5m. He was
recommended to Allardyce by his former captain at Blackburn Rovers, Ryan
Nelsen, who coached the 21-year-old star at Toronto.

Who could leave:

Mauro Zarate is set to complete his move to QPR while Ravel Morrison can
follow in his footsteps in a last attempt to resurrect his career. Even
though the former Manchester United talent enjoyed a promising start at
Upton Park, he eventually failed to make the impact expected at East London.
He was also unable to prove his worth during his loan spell at Cardiff.

Furthermore, Matt Jarvis and Ricardo Vaz Te may also leave the team after
falling out of favour.

Meanwhile, Winston Reid is said to have attracted the attention of some of
the big teams, but Allardyce recently claimed he would rather let the
centre-back leave for nothing next summer than sell him in January.

What the manager has said:

Sam Allardyce has targeted a top signing in the January transfer window but
is aware of the club's troubles regarding the Financial Fair Play
regulations.

"Everybody has to understand we are well into the second year of FFP so we
are all in a much more difficult position when every window comes, with the
limit on spending power, not just transfer fees but wages. And that's across
the board now.

"So I'd say one top player, if he became available, would be something we'd
pursue - but someone may have to leave to fund that. There's no point in
bringing in anybody less than a top player because what we've got now is top
drawer at the minute. We've got 22 players all fighting for places in the
team and playing really, really well."

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New Sakho back injury may hit Senegal
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 1, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Diafra Sakho is believed to have again injured his back and will be
carefully monitored over the next two or three days by club medics!
The striker left the action against West Bromwich Albion in the 72nd holding
his back after just failing to score from a sitting position during a
goalmouth melee. And although it's too early to say, there's a possibility
that the injury could keep him out of the African Nations Cup Tournament
which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea on January 17. A club source told
ClaretandHugh a few minutes ago: "We think the boy has done his back again.
It's a recurring injury now since he was with Senegal last time. It's become
a problem." Whether the fresh injury will keep him at home is in the balance
but the potential for a club v country battle is very much on the cards.
Club officials remain upset that Sakho has a problem at all and our source
said tonight: "They messed him up in the first place, now he has a recurring
back injury. "However, the situation is that they can pick him right up to
17th and they might want him in Dakar for their medical people to inspect
the injury. We'll know a lot more over the next few days/weeks."

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Redknapp clears up Zarate rumours
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 2, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Harry Redknapp has this morning made it clear that Mauro Zarate has NOT
failed a Queens Park Rangers medical but that a deal to take him to Loftus
Road has still not been completed. The former Hammers boss – still seething
over ten-man Swansea's late equaliser against the Hoops yesterday – told
ClaretandHugh: " The medical is fine, but the deal still has to be done."
Twitter was alive last night with rumours that the Argentinian had indeed
failed his medical but that is simply not true. Redknapp said: "Everything
is alright on the medical front but no it hasn't happened yet – we'll see.
There's no big rush."
Asked by us whether he was considering other options Redknapp said: "We're
not sure what we are doing yet – that may be correct.
"To be honest after what happened late in the game yesterday I don't even
want to talk to my wife!"

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Sakho may face lengthy lay off
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 2, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham medics believe Diafra Sakho could be out of action for between two
and five weeks after injuring his back against West Bromwich Albion
yesterday. And that could see him miss the African Cup of Nations tournament
for his international team Senegal which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea on
January 17. Although the player faces a scan, the early signs are not good
although the Hammers are bracing themselves for the player to be checked by
Senegal international bosses. A Hammers source said today: "That would
involve Diafra in travelling to Dakar. They may want to check that it is a
genuine injury, It is! "Because of the damage done to his back on the last
international outing when receiving treatment, this is now a recurring
injury. "An early check on the problem by our medics shows the situation
maybe as it was before – a two to five week lay off. "However, Diafra is a
quick healer so hopefully he could be back sooner rather than later and has
the two weeks to make the competition. He can be called up right up to the
16th. The scan will obviously tell us a lot more so fingers crossed"

Sakho came off midway through the second half holding his back after being
involved in a goalmouth scramble from which he attempted to score whilst in
a sitting position
'
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Hammers warn Redknapp on Zarate
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 2, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Harry Redknapp has been told to make up his mind over Mauro Zarate or risk
losing out on taking the player to Queens Park Rangers on loan for the rest
of the season. Redknapp told ClaretandHugh this morning that although the
Argentinian striker had passed a medical with the club, he still hadn't made
up his mind on the deal. However the Irons are in no mood to wait long for
an answer on the player and are not interested in playing games over the
terms of the deal given the amount of interest in Zarate. The player himself
wants to stay in London but the Hammers will refuse to get involved in any
wheeling or dealing on how much Rangers pay on wages which could be the
cause of the delay. A Hammers told us: "We are not going to get into ducking
and diving over this. The terms of the deal are known to Rangers and that's
that. "Its up to them but we'll keep him if they try to change the deal. We
have interest from three other Premier League clubs, plus 12 clubs abroad."
These are thought to include Newcastle and Sunderland along with two or
three Italian outfits so there's next to no chance of the Hammers having an
unhappy player on their hands.

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Disappointed Gold: "Fatigue factor worse for WBA"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on January 2, 2015 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

David Gold has described the 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion as " a
bad day at the office" and has refused to make excuses for the performance.
Nor does he believe that the players can use "fatigue" as a reason for not
performing better adding: "It was the same for both teams – in fact worse
for Albion because they had to travel." He told ClaretandHugh: "It wasn't
our day but there's no way I can or will make excuses for the display. Our
worst performance of the season was probably against Southampton but this
one was poor.
We got the first goal and had a great start but then a team that is
struggling at the wrong end of the table went up the other end and got an
equaliser. "This was a disappointing performance in a game we expected to
win and one point from nine over the Christmas was also disappointing. "We
move on to the FA Cup and put it behind us."

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